EAST LEBANON - A three-car collision on Route 202 sent four people to the hospital and restricted traffic to just one lane on the busy highway Thursday afternoon.
The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m. at the intersection of Route 202 and Union School Road in East Lebanon not far from the Sanford line.
According to Lebanon Fire and Rescue Chief Dan Meehan, all three vehicles were headed eastbound at the time of the accident.
None of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening, Meehan said.
The vehicles involved included a Nissan, a GMC pickup and a Buick, according to Maine State Police Trooper Kyle Wells, who said the GMC pickup and Buick were both waiting to take a left hand turn onto Union School Road when the female driver of the Nissan was distracted by her young daughter in the back seat and rear-ended the Buick, which then hit the pickup truck in front.
Lebanon Rescue transported the driver of the Nissan, a Shapleigh mom, and her toddler daughter to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, while North Berwick Rescue and Shapleigh Rescue transported an elderly Berwick couple who were in the Buick to Southern Maine Health Care in Sanford.
The driver and passenger in the GMC pickup were treated at the scene.
Meehan said Route 202 was reopened to two lanes about an hour after the crash.
In an earlier report it was noted that a fourth vehicle was involved, but there were only three, said Wells, who added no citations or charges were expected as a result of the accident.
He estimated the Nissan's speed at about 50 mph at the time of impact.